Classroom Activities: Explanation Text

The following is an article about "What You Need To Know About Drugs?" Read the article and find the meaning of the following words in your language based on the context!

accustomed: ....

adjusted: ....

chemical: ....

cranky: ....

dependent: ....

dumb: ....

fit: ....

prescribe: ....

puffy: ....

runny nose: ....

symptom: ....

tremor: ....

vomit: ....

wear off: ....

What You Need to Know about Drugs

Drugs are chemicals that change the way a person’s body works. You have probably heard that drugs are bad for you, but what does that mean and why are they bad? If you have ever been sick and had to take medicine, you already know about one kind of drugs. Medicines are legal drugs, meaning doctors are allowed to prescribe them for patients, stores can sell them, and people are allowed to buy them. But it is not legal, or safe, for people to use these medicines any way they want or to buy them from people who are selling them illegally.

When people talk about the “drug problem,” they usually mean abusing legal drugs or using illegal drugs, such as marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, crystal meths and heroin. Illegal drugs can damage the brain, heart, and other important organs. Cocaine, for instance, can cause a heart attack. While using drugs, a person is also less able to do well in school, sports, and other activities. It is often harder to think clearly and make good decisions. People can do dumb or dangerous things that could hurt themselves - or other people - when they use drugs.

Sometimes people try drugs to fit in with a group of friends. Or they might be curious or just bored. A person may use illegal drugs for many reasons, but often because they help the person escape from reality for a while. If a person is sad or upset, a drug can - temporarily - make the person feel better or forget about problems. But this escape lasts only until the drug wears off. Drugs do not solve problems, of course. And using drugs often causes other problems on top of the problems the person had in the first place. A person who uses drugs can become dependent on them, or addicted. This means that the person’s body becomes so accustomed to having this drug that he or she cannot function well without it. Once a person is addicted, it is very hard to stop taking drugs. Stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as vomiting (throwing up), sweating, and tremors (shaking). These sick feelings continue until the person’s body gets adjusted to being drug free again.

If someone is using drugs, you might notice changes in how the person looks or acts. Here are some of those signs. A person using drugs may:

lose interest in school

change friends (to hang out with those who use drugs)

become moody, negative, cranky, or worried all the time

ask to be left alone a lot

have trouble concentrating

sleep a lot (maybe even in class)

get in fights

have red or puffy eyes

lose or gain weight

cough a lot

have a runny nose all of the time

Task 3
Read again and answer the following questions based on the explanation text above!
1. What are drugs?
2. What are the examples of illegal drugs?
3. What are the effects of abusing drugs?
4. Why do people try drugs?
5. Can drugs solve problems?
6. What is meant by being addicted?
7. What will happen if a person stops taking drugs?
8. Mention some signs of someone using drugs.
9. What do the following words refer to?
a. “you” in paragraph 1 line 1 refers to ________
b. “they” in paragraph 1 line 2 refers to ________
c. “them” in paragraph 1 line 5 refers to ________
d. “they” in paragraph 1 line 5 refers to ________
e. “themselves” in paragraph 2 line 6 refers to ________

Task 4
Study the following rule!
In explanation text above you find the following sentences:

people are allowed to buy them

a person is addicted

We call the two sentences PASSIVE VOICE. PASSIVE VOICE is used to tell something that we want to emphasize.

The form of PASSIVE VOICE is:

BE + PAST PARTICIPLE (VERB 3)

Be can be in any of its form: am, is, are, has been, was, were, had been, will be, would be, etc.

Task 5

Change the verb into the passive forms. Do not change the verb.

BE

PAST PARTICIPLE

John sells illegal drugs

Illegal drugs

are

sold

by John

David smokes marijuana

Marijuana

by David

The police have caught Timo

Marijuana

By the police

Susan is injecting some cocaine

Some cocaine

by Susan

The police is going to hold a drug

A drug

By the police

The teacher will call the headmaster

The headmaster

By the teacher

Task 6

Change the following sentences into passive forms!

1. Drug dealers usually sell the drugs in the disco.
2. Susan snorted white powder in the bathroom.
3. Bobby smokes a cigarette which smells like marijuana.
4. Drugs have destroyed the future of many people.
5. My school is going to visit a drug rehab in our city.
6. Drug treatment centres provide help for drug addicts.
7. Drug addicts will feel withdrawal symptoms such as vomiting, sweating, and shaking once they try to stop using drugs.
8. Sometimes people try drugs to fit in with a group of friends.
9. Drugs change the way a person’s body works.
10. You have probably heard that drugs are bad for you.